Tourney leader brought to tears on verge of breakthrough victory 

The end is in sight for a lot of Tour pros, and not necessarily in a good way. That’s what this time of year can do to them. Their season rank is mostly locked into place. Their job security is brought most seriously into question. The offseason, short as it may be, looms. 

That’s what makes Sundays late in the fall so important. They offer a last-ditch launch at the money. They offer entry into the season-starting Sentry event for the best players in the world. A win and you’re into the Masters, too. Pros begin to envision their future laid out on an extra-comfy path, so long as they perform well. 

Enter: Justin Lower, FedEx rank no. 95. World rank no. 156. A zero-time PGA Tour winner. Zero-time Korn Ferry Tour winner. Lower has chased a win for years but he’s also just chased consistency, and when he made the cut at the World Wide Technology Championship this week he tallied it up as his 21st made cut this year. That’s a lot! 

But it’s still short of where he wants to be with two tournaments remaining this season, as evidenced by an emotional interview he gave Saturday evening following the third round. Lower had eagled the last hole to shoot 63 and earn some time in front of the camera. At first, there was a quick breakdown of his round, but then came something much deeper. What would a win mean to you during the FedEx Cup Fall? 

Lower immediately began shaking his head. 

“Everything,” he said, eyes welling, his voice cracking. “I don’t know. Um.” 

He took a deep breath or two and settled into some thoughts about how the course is playing and what kind of score it would take to get a win. Somewhere between five and nine under, he figured. 

The follow-up question had nothing to do with scoring:

Why did you get so emotional at that question? 

“I have no idea, honestly,” Lower said, exhaling and wiping a tear from his eye.

“I told myself I’m going to stop [getting emotional] in interviews, eventually. Just — I work really hard in this game. [Deep exhale.] I work really hard at it. Sometimes I think I never would have gotten this far. I’ve been through a lot in my life. It’s just a lot of fun. It’s nothing sad that I’m crying [about], I don’t know. It’s joyful, I just love being out here.”

The PGA Tour clipped these emotions in a social media post you can watch below, but if you’re looking for some context on why Lower might be thinking about his placement on the Tour, that was hidden. At least hidden from social media. 

The next words out of his mouth were filled with a bit of anger: 

“I hate all the changes they’re making,” Lower said. “That’s a whole ‘nother subject I could rant about for like an hour. Seems like anytime I do something good they make a change. But yeah, it just means a lot to me. I just want to see how good I can do and prove to myself that I can actually do something in this game.” 

On that note, Lower’s press time was done. He was off to sleep on a share of the 54-hole lead and all the emotions that come with it, fully aware that he’s not the only one feeling the squeeze late in the season. (He’s not the only one feeling the impending squeeze of next season, too, given new eligibility changes pushed forward by the Tour.) Which of them will be able to do something about it? Lower teed off in the final grouping late Sunday morning in Mexico, promptly making four birdies in his first six holes, nudging himself one shot clear of everyone else. It could just be his day.